Adam Jiricek

[Bluesfan1978]

Yesterday’s game he had 3 assists.
He had 2-3 prime scoring chances besides the assists.
He made a couple passes to players in high danger areas.
On the PP he’s very active. Moves to get open. Has his stick ready for a one timer so he’s also a decoy or a target for teams to focus on. He’s on the 1st PP and one of the PK units.
Defensively he had a player skate through him to the net for a goal.
He made a couple big hits.
Another play he got a penalty driving a player to the ice that was going to the net.
I hope he can turn into a top 4 D for the Blues that can QB a PP.

[seattleblue]

That sounds like the quintessential Adam Jiricek performance at this stage. Pretty much a distillation of how he plays. He skates around dynamically all over in the o zone with his stick raised/cocked for the slapshot waiting to be passed to. And it sometimes occurs. It's the bit about the guy going through him for a goal. That is what I keep cautioning people with. This is regular for him, he will surrender major chances that we would 100% expect a sturdy defender to shut down and snuff out. This is what I mean when I call him a high event player. He is fun to watch because there are a LOT of plays involving him and most of them are encouraging, while some are alarming. If he can dial in the danger then we have something.

[Army's Mom]

That sounds like the quintessential Adam Jiricek performance at this stage. Pretty much a distillation of how he plays. He skates around dynamically all over in the o zone with his stick raised/cocked for the slapshot waiting to be passed to. And it sometimes occurs. It's the bit about the guy going through him for a goal. That is what I keep cautioning people with. This is regular for him, he will surrender major chances that we would 100% expect a sturdy defender to shut down and snuff out. This is what I mean when I call him a high event player. He is fun to watch because there are a LOT of plays involving him and most of them are encouraging, while some are alarming. If he can dial in the danger then we have something.

I will defer to your expertise in who these young guys are or how they project, in all seriousness. But I've always thought of defense as something that is more learned than instinctual (versus offense). Guys tend to get better on D, it's much rarer to see young players improve on the offensive side as much. So, his natural growth curve should account for some of the negative events.

I'm excited to see to what extent

[DawgDad]

Sure, he needs to improve his defense, so does Colton Parayko. But one goal allowed with 3 assists is a stat line I'd take every game.

[callitwhatyouwant]

That sounds like the quintessential Adam Jiricek performance at this stage. Pretty much a distillation of how he plays. He skates around dynamically all over in the o zone with his stick raised/cocked for the slapshot waiting to be passed to. And it sometimes occurs. It's the bit about the guy going through him for a goal. That is what I keep cautioning people with. This is regular for him, he will surrender major chances that we would 100% expect a sturdy defender to shut down and snuff out. This is what I mean when I call him a high event player. He is fun to watch because there are a LOT of plays involving him and most of them are encouraging, while some are alarming. If he can dial in the danger then we have something.

I will defer to your expertise in who these young guys are or how they project, in all seriousness. But I've always thought of defense as something that is more learned than instinctual (versus offense). Guys tend to get better on D, it's much rarer to see young players improve on the offensive side as much. So, his natural growth curve should account for some of the negative events.

I'm excited to see to what extent

I think that's just the nature of the sport. Defense is way more "scenario" based in hockey than offense. Offense you can set up a plan, and your gifts will take over. On defense, you are reactionary all the time in a certain system whether that's man or zone. And the more you see plays, the more you hopefully learn to just be in the right position. I think offense in most sports leans itself in the creative realm. You get to do a lot of "instinctual" things like you said because you are in control. While they say defenders have good "instincts" for the puck, I think that applies to when to pinch, when to challenge the shot etc. And almost all those are rep based.

[seattleblue]

Sure, he needs to improve his defense, so does Colton Parayko. But one goal allowed with 3 assists is a stat line I'd take every game.

It's not a sustainable attitude with the type of chances he gives up. the types of chances he gives up bear no relationship to how Parayko gives up chances, because they're born from different sources. If you beat Parayko you have earned your chance but players who successfully beat Jiricek most of those chances should not have happened. Jiricek is not a 3.0 PPG player, so we have to speak about him realistically.

[Frank Barone]

The question I have is whether he has legit NHL PP QB type skills. The Blues do not have an NHL level PP QB on their roster, and haven't since Krug's injury. It would be nice to fill this need with an existing Blues draft pick like Jiricek. I understand he has offensive skills, but running an NHL power play requires some special skills like vision, passing and composure.

[seattleblue]

The question I have is whether he has legit NHL PP QB type skills. The Blues do not have an NHL level PP QB on their roster, and haven't since Krug's injury. It would be nice to fill this need with an existing Blues draft pick like Jiricek. I understand he has offensive skills, but running an NHL power play requires some special skills like vision, passing and composure.

Jiricek has high end vision and passing skills. Composure to be the clear QB ... it's tough to say on Brantford because they are loaded with players on the PP who are highly capable. So if Jake O'Brien has the puck more than Jiricek on the PP, does that mean anything about Jiricek's ability/PP role? I don't feel confident saying one way or the other yet. This year has been more about finding steady consistency in the high end aspects of his game, and adding a lot of physicality/timing hits.

[Old_Goat]

That's why you pair him with someone whom is stronger defensively to balance and mitigate any weakness. It's also why I believe that you play as 5-man units and use your checking (4th) line for certain situations with quick changes; or components of it to kill penalties...and keep them together! It's another reason why I advocate for three 5-man units, because both forwards and D-men may press with a forward back-filling each other in the O-zone, as well as everyone participating in D-zone breakouts and/or stretch passes to push odd-man rushes. With that in mind, it's actually better having 7 D and 11 forwards in the lineup. Then you are not totally imbalanced by in-game injury nor penalties. With TV timeouts, and rested participants for penalty kill to also rest a lot of the others while killing the penalties, you can play three 5-man units more effectively for most of the game. Those rested penalty killers could also solve the long-change 2nd periods, and the end-of-game tired breakdown and goals against.

[seattleblue]

Yes but that is taking the easy way out of this question. Of course he can contribute some elements, the question on the table is how complete a player is he going to be. How close to a true #1 all around defenseman he is going to be is what's on the table, not whether it's a smart strategy to mitigate a weaker player with a stronger one

[stlblue06]

If he can actually contribute offensively on a consistent year to year basis quickly then I’d be more than patient with any defensive issues.

The Blues have been trying to acquire mobile offensive defenders for a while with Krug, Faulk, Fowler, and Leddy but all of them were getting old when acquired and started their inconsistent downfall with the Blues.

So far Mailloux hasn’t shown his offensive upside yet, hopefully he still has it at this level.

[Old_Goat]

Yes but that is taking the easy way out of this question. Of course he can contribute some elements, the question on the table is how complete a player is he going to be. How close to a true #1 all around defenseman he is going to be is what's on the table, not whether it's a smart strategy to mitigate a weaker player with a stronger one

Oh, I missed the question in the thread. I was addressing how to best deploy the player as his strengths and weaknesses are described.
I don't know the answer to that question specific question re is he a True #1.
Is #1 referring to what the Blues have? Or is it one of the top (whatever number) D-men in the league?

[Frank Barone]

The question I have is whether he has legit NHL PP QB type skills. The Blues do not have an NHL level PP QB on their roster, and haven't since Krug's injury. It would be nice to fill this need with an existing Blues draft pick like Jiricek. I understand he has offensive skills, but running an NHL power play requires some special skills like vision, passing and composure.

Jiricek has high end vision and passing skills. Composure to be the clear QB ... it's tough to say on Brantford because they are loaded with players on the PP who are highly capable. So if Jake O'Brien has the puck more than Jiricek on the PP, does that mean anything about Jiricek's ability/PP role? I don't feel confident saying one way or the other yet. This year has been more about finding steady consistency in the high end aspects of his game, and adding a lot of physicality/timing hits.

Good stuff, thanks.

[Harry S Deals]

AJ is a +23 in 34 GP and a +33 overall in the OHL. I wouldnt worry too much about his game hes going to be just fine

[SameOldBlues]

I think Seattle’s posts in this thread are spot on, and completely logical, and Im sure he’s seen more of him than 99.529% of us on this forum so until I see something different, I have no problem deferring to his observations.

There’s no doubt Jiricek’s an exciting prospect loaded with potential, which is awesome to see him performing so well cause those who were worried about his injury history and his extremely frail body on draft day, myself included, had every reason to be concerned. Thankfully all the credit goes to him for puttin in the work to get bigger (which is a work in progress cause he still needs to add at least another 20lbs to play around 200 or so in the NHL), and he’s been healthy for a bit now so hopefully that continues *knock on wood.*

It’s a process. I cant wait till he’s in the big show throwing massive hits, clearing the crease, runnin the powerplay, etc. And Im extremely confident that a few on here will be rippin him left n right and callin him a bust 25 games into his career, or sooner, everytime he makes the same mistakes that those future HOF’s Fowler, Faulk, Parayko etc. make routinely. Ageism at its finest I guess.

[BleedingBleu]

Jiricek likely need 3 things…
1.) An entire year in the AHL
2.) Another mostly full year in the AHL with a cup of coffee
3.) A rugged old fart for a partner for the 2028/29 Season

Cam Fowler will be 37 by that point and in the last year of his contract and maybe that’s good enough.

So, if they move Faulk at the TDL, they’ll need to add another RHD this offseason. Is John Carlson on a shorty too old? Maybe John Klingberg?

Andrew Peeke is probably fine if you think Maillou is capable of taking that next step, but I like the idea of a veteran being tethered to him, too.

Jacob Trouba would certainly bring a big nastiness to the D Corps, but at 32 he’ll be looking for a longer term contract. So, picking him up will eventually mean squeezing Colt55 (2029/30) out when the RHD gets crowded w/Jiricek & Mailloux hopefully ascending.

Trouba might be a nice get if he could simply cover you those next few seasons while AJ is allowed to develop his Defensive Game